Chorus boost broadband bandwidth with VDSL2 vectoring

Nokia says Chorus has deployed Nokia VDSL2 vectoring technology in its copper broadband access network enabling it to provide broadband speeds up to 130Mbps to residential and business customers.

In the announcement of its FY18 results, Chorus said that, in FY18, it had invested $20m in a project to upgrade copper broadband performance for about 270,000 addresses across rural and local fibre company areas.

“The deployment of vectoring and new VDSL broadband electronics saw a more than 40 percent average increase in download speed for customers already on VDSL and a further 85,000 rural addresses who could benefit from improved broadband performance,” the company said.

VDSL2 vectoring is a noise-cancelling technology that removes the interference created between different pairs in a multipair copper cable, enabling each pair to support a higher bandwidth. However the bandwidth available reduces significantly with distance.

Chorus' head of network technology at, Martin Sharrock, said vectoring improved average VDSL downstream speeds by over 40 percent and upstream speeds by over 30 percent.

"VDSL vectoring ensures the best possible speed on existing copper lines and Chorus' congestion-free network policy maintains that speed and performance even during the busiest times of the day."

Actual throughput depends on a number of factors, including diameter of the copper and the frequencies used. A graph of typical achievable speeds of vectoring shows 160Mbps at 100 metres, falling to 110Mbps at 500 metres and 40Mbps at 1km.

Nokia's press release states; "Nokia's VDSL2 vectoring technology enables Chorus to improve the online and TV experience for copper broadband customers with service up to 130Mbps” and also: "VDSL2 vectoring lets operators cost-effectively and efficiently deploy ultra-broadband services of up to 100Mbps and more over existing copper networks.”

Nokia says VDSL2 will enable Chorus to better address growing broadband consumption in areas where its fibre network is yet to be built, and in rural areas outside Ultrafast Fibre coverage area.